Out for revenge, Centennial surges past Glenelg, 10-7

No. 12 Eagles break tie at half with next 3 goals

Boys lacrosse

April 20, 2005|By Rick Belz | Rick Belz,SUN STAFF

The groundwork for yesterday's 10-7 Centennial victory over Glenelg in boys lacrosse was laid over the past two seasons.

After being beaten by Glenelg last season for the county title because of a 5-3 regular-season loss to the Gladiators, and after being eliminated from the playoffs by Glenelg in the regional final two years ago, the Eagles wanted some revenge.

"This is the game we always think about because we want to get them back," said senior Scott Fry, who scored two third-quarter goals at Glenelg during a three-goal Centennial run that opened the second half and broke a 4-4 halftime tie.

No. 12-ranked Centennial (7-1 overall, 5-0 league) had led 4-1 and was threatening to run away with the game until Glenelg (6-2, 3-2) rallied in the final five minutes of the first half.

During that rally, Ben Cobleigh scored twice and Shea Conway once for the Gladiators. Cobleigh's second goal came with 11 seconds left in the half.

"We were upset that we couldn't hold the early lead," Fry said. "We knew Glenelg was a good team, and that we needed to step it up in the second half. That's what we did."

Alex Ashcroft had two goals and six assists for Centennial.

"They gave us a good game," Ashcroft said. "I was a little surprised they kept it so close. My shots just weren't dropping."

His second goal came with 4:48 to play and put the Eagles ahead 9-6. Cobleigh scored his third goal with 1:39 to play, cutting the Centennial lead to 9-7.

But Sammy Stumpf, last season's Howard County Player of the Year, scored his fourth goal with 1:04 to play for the final margin of victory.

"Glenelg came ready to play," said Centennial coach Mike Siegert. "I don't know why we were flat. The attack was too passive and was not getting the job done early. Our game plan was to move without the ball, but early on we were trying to force it inside too much. Glenelg packed its defense in tight and it was hard to find the seams."

Centennial had a decided depth advantage with a rotation of 12 midfielders, eight offensive players and four defensive ones. They also rotated six long pole defensemen.

"I felt like with our depth we wanted to run them," Siegert said. "We won more ground balls in the second half and I think we tired them out."